“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” –John Muir
Paul Booth Gallery and Last Rites Gallery have teamed up for a solo exhibition with Jean Pierre Arboleda and Hannah Faith Yata, the husband-and-wife duo best known for their love affair with Earth which they proclaim in elaborate paintings of flora and fauna and embrace of humankind. No Man's Land celebrates the mythology of an abundant world once whole and unspoiled.
Arboleda focuses on animal conservation and centers his work around endangered species such as the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey and Pangolin, the most heavily trafficked animal in the modern world. Ensconced in a lush green haven, Arboleda's creatures challenge viewers in defiant stare, proudly guarding a habitat untouched by man.
Yata imagines an alternate species of humans more closely attuned to their environment. In Conversations with Death, a female body soaks in the converged elements of animals, insects, and vegetation, testimony to the relationship of creature and environment.
Arboleda and Yata find inspiration in each other, as well as artists like Breugel, Bosc, Peter Paul Rubens and Melchior d'Hondecoeter They may create their own lands, creatures, and spheres, but are respectfully united in communion with the natural world.
No Man's Land opens at Booth Gallery on September 7th, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm, and is on view through October 5, 2019.
